According to tradition and custom, the hull of marine vessels having requirements of low weight, such as planing boats for private, civilian, or military use, is manufactured from aluminium or plastic. However, large (greater than 10 m) as well as small (less than 10 m) boats of such a lightweight structure are impaired by certain disadvantages. A large disadvantage of plastic boats is that they are relatively fragile in relation to size and weight, and thereby the hull risks cracking in heavy groundings or if the boat bumps into cliffs upon mooring in natural harbour. Another disadvantage of plastic boats is that they require much care and maintenance, for instance cleaning, under water painting, waxing, polishing, etc., to prevent the plastic from ageing and crackling. However, the ageing of the plastic cannot entirely be prevented and the air, the water, UV radiation, and aquatic organisms deteriorate the properties of the plastic already after a few years. Marine hulls of plastic have relatively large tolerances, approximately ±1% in length and width, as well as are not stable in shape; this entails expensive and highly time-consuming fitting work of the fixtures and other structures of the marine vessel. A large disadvantage of boats manufactured from light metal, such as aluminium, is that the hulls of these boats have to be welded together from several panels, generally single-curved panels, which limits the hydrodynamic properties of the marine vessel. The joints, or the welding seams, between the panels are the weak point of the hull, and not rarely cracks and leaks arise in the welding seams solely because of external stress from the water upon propulsion of the boat. The welding seams also risk cracking upon grounding or the like. Aluminium boats also have the disadvantage that, in course of time, a total fatigue of the material occurs. In addition, boats of light-metal hulls easily buckle due to external stress, because the hull plate has a low buckling load limit at the same time as the framework, or set of longitudinal reinforcements and transverse reinforcements, of the boat that carries the hull plate is entirely rigid and non-compliant. These deformations imply not only an aesthetic problem but also a hydrodynamic problem, with decreasing maximum speed and manoeuvrability as a consequence. Similar to marine hulls manufactured from plastic, marine hulls manufactured from aluminium also have relatively large tolerances, approximately ±1% in length and width, which entails expensive and highly time-consuming fitting work of the fixtures and other structures of the marine vessel.
The hulls of high-speed non-planing or displacement boats, such as high-speed warships like frigates and destroyers, are most often manufactured from joined, thick steel plates. A typical thickness of such hull plates is 15-30 mm, which are interconnected by means of welding. Even if said boats withstand large external stresses, they risk, similar to aluminium boats, getting permanent deformations. Another large disadvantage of this type of steel boats is that they have a great weight in relation to their size and thereby consume much fuel upon propulsion, which makes them less suitable for private use.